Clipping device



Aug. 4, 1936. l. STEIN CLIPPING DEVICE Filed May 25, 1955 1 MIME INVEN'-I'OR IXVING STEIN l/wawvlluw ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

' This invention relates to improvements in hair clipping devices and has for a principal object the provision of a hair clipper capable of cutting hair, regardless of the original length of the hair, to a length equivalent to a close shave.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a clipping device having an outer cylindrical member having a flat working face and having a cylindrical bore out of center therein, and closely adjacent to said working face, the relation being in accordance with the resultant length of hair, and the provision of a reciprocable member within said bore, both of said members being provided with slots forming cutting edges. Still another object of the invention is the provision, in a device of the character described, of a series of slots in the outer member terminatin along a line in'the flat working face, at substantially the thinnest portion of the outer cylindrical member, and forming the material between the slots to function as a comb for guiding hair into said slots, and having said line serve as the last point of cutting contact with the hair as the device is moved along the surface of the skin.

A. further object of the invention is the provislon, in a clipping device, of a member engaging and reciprocating the inner member relative to the outer member and at the same time holding the inner-member into resilient engagement with 30 the outer member in the immediate cutting area of the device.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision, in a clipping device of the character de scribed, of slots in the inner member J angular 35 relative to the slots in the outer member whereby the thinnest portion of the wall of the outer member is adequately supported for all portions of the strokeof the inner member.

, Another object of the invention is the provi- 0 sion, in a clipping device, of a member for reciprocating the inner member of the device supported,

at least, partly within the outer member of the device, and arranged to reciprocate the inner I RElS-SUED may be passed through the center hole of the 10" reciprocating member, for cleaning the device without the necessity of taking the same apart,

Other objects will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawingz 15 Figure 1 is an elevation showing one modification ofthe new and improved clipping device mounted upon and in driving relation to an electric motor, the figure being partly broken away to show the linkage between the motor and the device;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of Figure 1 taken along the line 2-2;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view'of the clipping device per se and a portion of the linkage showing one methodof resiliently retaining the inner member into engagement with the outer memberwithin the acting cutting areas;

Figure 4 is an-enlarged view of the inner and outer members with the inner member projecting through one end of the outer member showing the arrangement of the slots; Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3, showing the formation 4 of the material between the slots into comb like 5 form;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the device in contact with the skin showing the cutting action of the device;

Figure '7 is an isometric view of a cover device 40 for protecting the cutting surfaces when the device is not in use;

Figure 8 is an elevation of a brush suitable for cleaning thedevice after use; and

Figure 9 is a sectional elevation of the inner member of the device showing thedriving'pin and a portion cut away for clearing the driving member. v

Although the device maybe driven by a vi"- ,5 brator, spring power or water motor, a preferred embodiment is shown in Figure 1 in connection with an electric motor Ill which is provided with an attachment cord I l, by means of which it may be attached to any suitable source of current, and

is also provided with a switch i2 for controlling the current supplied to the motor.

The motor shaft I3 is provided'with a cup shaped disc 14 having a'hole, relative to the shaft 13, eccentric therein. The method of driving the device by means of the disc l4 will presently be, described.

The cutting device consists of an outer cylindrical member l5 having a flat portion It. This fiat portion constitutes the working face of the gevice. The member I5 has a'longitudinal hole ormed therein eccentric to-the outer diameter of the member and closely adjacent to the flat portion 15. The distance between the hole 11 and the flat portion l6 determines the shortness of the cut.

A plurality of slots I8 are formed in the member l5 extending from a point,- indicated on Figure 2 by the numeral l9, where the casing of the motor In members up with the member l5, and ending along a mid-line .of the flat portion, which, incidentally, is in the thinnest portion of the outer member l5.

The portions 20 between the slots i8 will be termed webs.

The outer faces of these webs are tapered to form combs and the inner faces of these webs cooperate with the inner member to form shears, as will presently be described.

Diametrically opposite the face 16, the outer cylindrical member I5 is provided with a radial hole 2!. This hole is located centrally with respect to the length of the outer member I5.

An inner cylindrical member 22 forms a free working fit in the eccentric hole I1 in the outer member ii. The inner member 22 is provided with a longitudinal hole 23 which is preferably concentrically located therein. The member 22 is provided with a plurality of diagonal slots 24 and the portions 25 between the slots will be termed shearing blades.

The inner member22 has a longitudinal slot 23 formed therein and a driving pin 21 is located in the member 22 adjacent to the slot 28 and at right angles thereto. The pin 21 is utilized in connection with mechanism for reciprocating the inner member 22 within the outer member l5.

By referring to Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that the wall of the outer member is very thin along the mid-line of the flat portion l8 and, due to the eccentricity of the hole 11, is thickest in the portion opposite the flat portion i6. Due to the fact that the shearing blades 25 are diagonal relative to the webs 20 in the outer member when the two members are assembled, these diagonal shearing blades serve not only as shears but as supports for supporting the wall of the member ii at its thinnest point.

A driving member, generally designated by the numeral 28, is provided with a rectangular portion 28 having a slot 3ilflformed therein. The slot 38 forms a working fit with the driving pin 21 and the thickness of the rectangular portion 23 is such that it forms a working fit in the longitudinal slot 28.

Immediately below the rectangular portion 29, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the driving member 28 is made in the form of a ball 3| which forms a working fit with the radial hole2l in the outer cylindrical member l5.

Immediately below the ball 3| the driving member 28 has formed therein slots 32 and 33. A

spring 34 has a portion thereof in the form of a ynke which engages the driving member 28 11, thereby protecting the mechanism from dust and foreign matter.

through the medium of the slots 32 and 33 and imposes a spring load upward, as viewed in Figures 1, 2' and 3, upon the driving member. This spring load is transmitted to the inner member 22 via the slot 30 in the rectangular portion 28 5 and via the driving pin 21 which it engages.

Due to the fact that the inner cylindrical mem ber forms a free fit in the eccentric hole I1 the spring load causes the outer surface of the shearing blades to be retained in intimate contact with the inner surface of'the webs 20 in the immediate active cutting area, thereby making the friction substantially less than in devices of the prior art in which the inner member 22 is made of thin spring steel which is contracted and inserted into the outer member so that it imposes tension all the way around the circle.

A transverse member 36 in the casing of the motor l8 serves as a support for the spring 34 and the outer cylindrical member I5 is secured to the casing by means of screws 31. The lower portion 35 of the driving member 28 is slotted to form a yoke. This slot is parallel to the slot 30 in the driving pin 21.

A link member 38 has one end forming a tongue 25 39 which forms a working fit in the yoke in the lower portion 35 and is secured in this relation by a pivot pin 40.

The lower end of the link member 39 extends through and forms a working fit with a hole 3 formed in the cup shaped disc l4.

As the disc I4 rotates due to the movement of the motor the link member 38 drives the driving member 28 and in turn moves the inner cylindrical member 22 through the medium of the tongue 39 and pivot pin 48 and as each end of the stroke of the inner member 22 is approached the swivel action of the tongue 39 and the pin 48 allows the member 22 to stop moving in one direction and to start moving in the reverse direction.

The spring load imposed via the irmer member upon the active shearing surfaces not only serves to retain these members in intimate contact but also serves to make the shearing surfaces fselfsharpening. The hole 23, extending through the inner member 22, not only serves to catch the cut hairs but also as a ventilator through which air may freely pass and thereby keeps the temperature of.-the device low.

A brush 4| may be passed through the hole 23 for removing the cut hairs and cleaning the device without the necessity of disassembling the same.

when not in use the device may have applied thereto a guard 42 which covers the slots and webs, the flat active area It and the depressions, oneof which is indicated by the numeral '43, engaging and closing the ends of the eccentric hole In Figure 6, a portion of the skin 44, being shaved or clipped, is shown. The flat portion i6- irons out the skin and the outer surfaces of the webs 20, due to their comb like shape, de the hairs into the slots l8 where they are met by the shearing blades 25. The cut hairs are shown in the interior hole 23 of the inner member. I The device is moved along the skin against the lie of the hair. Although most of the hairs lie slanting in one direction there are other hairs among those which may grow in any direction, in fact, some of them may even turn back and grow into the skin to form an ingrowing hair.

of the hair the metal at the end of the slots along the mid-line of the flat portion l6, engages any hairs which may be lying too close to the skin for the device to cut and raises them into engagement with the shearing blades 25. This feature, which might be termed a reference or in dex line, is not present in devices of the prior art and therein the inemciencies of those devices are due to the absence of this feature. This reference line also prevents the hair from jumping out of the slots and obviates the necessity for going over the surface a large number of times to obtain a close, uniform cut.

Although a simple embodiment of the invention is herein shown and described, it is obvious that other forms of the invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A clipping device comprising a body member having a longitudinal bore, an outer flat surface parallel to said bore and a plurality of transverse slots communicating with said bore and terminating in said flat surface, said bore being eccentric to the outer surface of said body member and closely adjacent to said flat surface whereby the thick portion of said body member forms an adequate support for the webs between said slots forming shearing blades, and a cylindrical shear ing member within said bore having a plurality of diagonally transverse slots therein, the webs between said last slots forming shearing blades adapted to cooperate with said first blades, and

means to longitudinally reciprocate said shearing flat surface thereof.

3. A device according to claim 1. in which the webs between the slots in the body have their inner surfaces forming shearing blades, in which the outer surfaces are shaped to form combs for guiding hair into said slots, and in which the slots terminate along the mid-line of said flat surface in the thinnest portion of the wall of said outer member thereby eliminating the necessity for spacing the shearing bladesvery close together.

4. In a. clipping device, a body member having a portion of its outer surface formed flat andhaving a plurality of transverse slots formed therein terminating in the fiat surface and form-' ing therebetween webs comprising blades, an inner shearing member having a plurality of. slots formed therein forming shearing blades adapted to cooperate with said first blades, means forming a hole in the wall of said body member opposite said flat surface, meansforming a longitudinal slot in said shearing member, a driving pin positioned in said last member adjacent to said longitudinal slot, a linking member pivoted in said hole and having a yoke formed in one end thereof engaging said driving pin, and driving means engaging said linking member to oscillate 5 said shearing member within said body member. 5. A device according to claim 4 in which the portion of the linking member pivoted in said hole is made inthe form of a ball forming a ball and socket joint therewith, and having notches formed therein adjacent to said ball, and. in which spring means is provided engaging said notches for resiliently holding said shearing member against the inner surface of. the body member within an areaimmediately adjacent to the flat portion.

6. A clipping device according to claim 4 in which the linking member forms a working fit in the longitudinal slot in said shearing member and prevents any radial movement of the latter 20 when the device is operated. a 7. In a clipping device, a cylindrical bodymember having a series of shearing blades formed therein, an inner shearing member adapted to reciprocate within said body member and provided 25 with a. series of shearing blades cooperating with said first shearing blades, an electric motor, a driving link between said motor and said shearing member, means forming a ball and socket pivot between said driving link and said body 30 member, and spring means acting via at least a portion of said driving link for maintaining the shearing member in operative engagement with the shearing blades in said body member.

8. Ina clipping machine in combination, an 35 electric motor, a casing for said motor having a rectangular opening formed therein, a frame within said casing and having a portion thereof adjacent to said opening, a clipper body member having a longitudinal hole formed therein, including a plurality of shear blades forming a closure for said opening and partially embraced by said casing, means securing said body member to said casing, a shearing member arranged to reciprocate in said hole, said shearing member including a plurality of shear blades. a driving link between said motor and said shearing member pivotally supported in said body member and passing through said frame, and spring means secured to said frame in engagement with said driving link for retaining the blades of said shearing member in engagement with the shear blades of said body member.

9. A machine according to claim 8 in which the clipper body member has a fiat face formed thereon and in which slots between said shear blades terminate along a mid line of said flat face where the wall of said member is relatively thin, whereby the said face may progressively flatten the skin ahead of the shearing area and the ends 0 of the slots may guide hair into the blades and eliminate the necessity for moving the machine over the surface of the skin a pluralityof times.

IRVING STEIN. 

